The survey found that, while bitcoin is still a relatively new technology, nine out of ten (93%) of people in the U.K. say they have heard of bitcoin—with just over one in five (23%) say they understand it "fairly" well.

Cryptocurrencies including bitcoin, ethereum, litecoin, dash, and ripple saw unprecedented growth in 2017, catapulting them into the national consciousness. While digital currencies across the board have divided opinion between financial institutions, the crypto sector continues to grow, as it continues to see wider mainstream adoption. (Photo by Jordan Mansfield/Getty Images)

Currently, bitcoin is all but unused for payments either over the internet or in brick-and-mortar stores and the survey found that four in ten (43%) of people in the U.K. expect that status quo to continue, saying they do not think cryptocurrencies will ever be as common as cash or card. A third (34%) don’t know.

Bitcoin, cryptocurrencies, and their underlying blockchain technology, have over the last two years become a part of the economy and culture, in a way comparable to the rapid rise of the internet in the early 1990s.

Last year's bull run meant a raft of bitcoin mentions in film, TV, and music as producers both praised and attacked the digital currency—that made many overnight millionaires and brought on the ire of the established financial industry.

Public awareness has been a major driver of the bitcoin price, which last year ballooned to almost $20,000 from around $1,000 per coin at the beginning of the year. The bitcoin price has since fallen back, dragging most other major cryptocurrencies with it, and is now trading at around $6,500.

One in five Brits (21%) think cryptocurrencies will one day be as commonly used a payment method as card or cash — but alternatively, many do not.

On the animated cartoon comedy "Family Guy", the show's main character Peter Griffin suggests bitcoin as a solution to his family’s financial trouble. In "Dope", a 2015 American comedy-drama movie, the main character begins selling drugs online using bitcoin. On the sitcom "The Big Bang Theory", the gang search for a lost laptop which held bitcoin that Sheldon and his friends purchased seven years earlier.

One of the key principles behind cryptocurrencies is the notion that their value is controlled not by a central institution, but by the people using it.

One in four (25%) are "neutral" towards the idea of a currency controlled by the people using it, and one in five (18%) don’t know.

YouGov

However, YouGov’s research shows people in the U.K. are seven times more likely to say they feel "very negative" about the notion of a type of currency controlled by the people using it than "very positive" (20% vs 3%), and twice as likely to feel "fairly negative" (20%) than "fairly positive" (9%).